Since John Fraas took the helm of Class Valuation as president just over a year ago, the company has seen tremendous growth all while maintaining a positive work environment.

Growing the company by 22% in such a short amount of time can have its challenges, but John’s commitment to his team is undeniable.

Class Valuation won the “Cool Places to Work” award by Crain’s Detroit. This prestigious award only recognizes 100 companies in the Detroit metro area that go above and beyond in putting a focus on workplace culture. Fraas’s visible presence in the office and team-player mentality set him apart and have helped shape the positive company culture at the company today.

Fraas puts it down to his hiring strategy: “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.”

Fraas’s leadership led the company to receive four additional industry-recognized awards. He leads by example and prefers to be in the weeds of the business with his team. When he started at Class Valuation, he spent his first 90 days meeting each team member and sitting with each team learning the operations of the business.

Fraas understands no one knows their job more than the people doing them, so there is no one better to find efficiency opportunities. The volume of appraisal orders has outpaced the amount of team members needed as the team has capitalized on many time saving initiatives. It should be noted that not only has the company become more efficient, it has also improved service levels.

What one habit has made a crucial difference in your success?

“Regularly stepping outside my office and sitting with the team – doing more listening than talking. I believe it’s critical to not be seen as intimidating so that the team feels comfortable approaching me with questions, comments, and concerns.”